Now in its fifth edition, this best-selling, multidisciplinary textbook continues to draw on the skills of pharmacists and clinicians to present optimal drug regimens. The authors integrate an understanding of the disease processes with an appreciation of pathophysiological processes, clinical pharmacy and the evidence base.

The term osteomyelitis encompasses a broad group of infectious diseases characterized by
infection of the bone and/or bone marrow. The pathogenesis of these diseases can follow
acute, subacute or chronic courses and involves a range of contributory host and pathogen
factors. A commonly used aetiological classification distinguishes between three types of
osteomyelitis: acute or chronic haematogenous disease seeded by organisms in the
bloodstream, local spread from a contiguous source of infection and secondary osteomyelitis
related to vascular insufficiency. ...

Clostridium perfringense-toxin is produced by toxinotypes B and D strains.
The toxin is the aetiological agent of dysentery in newborn lambs but is
also associated with enteritis and enterotoxaemia in goats, calves and foals.
It is considered to be a potential biowarfare or bioterrorism agent by the
US Government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Urinary incontinence is a condition that affects a significant proportion of the
population. The prevalence increases with age and there is a female preponderance.
With the advent of more aggressive management strategies for prostate cancer, there is
an increase in the proportion of men struggling with incontinence as well.
Incontinence has social, physical, psychological and economic implications for the
individual as well as society as a whole.

The pathogenesis of osteomyelitis is a complex process involving interactions between a
host and an infectious agent. The host’s inflammatory response to a pathogen can further
the physical spread of disease by clearing space in bone. Predisposing genetic differences in
immune function are increasingly seen as an aetiological factor in some cases of
osteomyelitis. Acquired factors such as diseases causing immune or vascular compromise
and implantation of foreign materials are frequently involved in the disease process as well. ...

Increasing evidence suggests that serious mental illness is neurodevelopmental and the
onset of pre-psychotic symptoms occurs in adolescence, at a time when the cerebral cortex is
still developing. As with many complex disorders (e.g. hypertension, epilepsy, and
diabetes), there appear to be many aetiological pathways that might lead to the final mixture
of behavioral signs and symptoms we label ‘schizophrenia’.

The lack of understanding of the mechanisms whereby the above aetiological
factors (genetic and environmental) interact to initiate the complex pathobiology of
schizophrenia is the key reason for the relative lack of progress in the development of novel
drug treatments. All the antipsychotic medication that is currently in use (first and second
generation) is all predicated on the so-called ‘Dopamine Hypothesis’ (discussed below) and
share a common putative mechanism of action, namely dopamine antagonism.

The pace of research on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) can only be described as extraor‐
dinary as this volume shows. It is extremely difficult for any single professional to keep
abreast of all the developments in this area. This volume gathers together leading research‐
ers and expert clinicians from many different parts of the world to produce this "up-to-the-
minute" volume. It gives an in depth view of many areas of research which may be
unfamiliar...